Railway draft appliance



Nov. 27, 1934. w. J. REGAN El'AL ;9

RAILWAY DRAFT APPLIANCE I Filed Feb. 27, 1928.

Patented Nov. 27, 1934 William J.

, Regan, Wilkinsburg, and Enoch George, Jr.,'Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors-to'The McConway & Torley Company, a. corporation of Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pa.,

Application February 27, 1928, Serial No.257,319 4 Claims.. (01. 213-459) This invention relates to draft appliances for railway cars and has for its object to provide effective means for flexibly connecting the rear end of coupler shanks with draft yokes or the equivalent draft straps, the construction being suchas to permit the employment ofa draft key for connecting the coupler and yoke while at the same time ensuring full bearing of theyoke arms on the key and also a full bearing for the key in the rear of the slot in the coupler shank. A further object of the invention is to produce an efiicient construction such that a car coupler having a standard shank orbarrel may be used for renewals if so desired or if the particular parts which are the subject of this invention are not immediately available.

The principal feature of the invention consists in combining a car coupler with means pivotally connected thereto for transmitting draft and buffing forces to springs or other cushioning units, the stem of the car coupler being provided with a rearwardly opening slot and having a plurality of oppositely projecting lugs for respectively cooperating with recessed projections formed on a bearing block which is disposedbetween the arms of the yoke, the bearing block having a forwardly extending web projecting into the slot of the coupler so as to form a bearing for a transverse key which extends through the slot of the coupler ,and through slots in the arms of the yoke.

There are other features of the invention pertaining to advantageous details of construction and combinations of parts, all as will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a railway draft appliance constructed in accordance with the invention, the rear portion of the yoke device and the head of the car coupler being omitted.

Figure 2 is a detail vertical sectional view of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a detail view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical central section, of the bearing block element.

In the drawing, 1 indicates the stem of a car coupler whose rear end extends between horizontally spaced yoke arms or straps 2 between which a cushioning unit (not shown) is interposed in a well known manner. The arms 2 may either (be connected at their rear ends or be formed as separate straps, both types of construction being well known and incommon use; I The rear" or butt end of the coupler is fashioned with a rear wardly opening slot for receiving a transversely extending key 3 the yoke arms 2'. I

t its rear end the shank of the coupler is im tegrally formed with oppositely disposed vertical: ly projecting lugs 41 whose front and rear races; are curved with respect to afcommon verticalca axis, the rear faces 5 preferably being cylindrical and the forward faces 6 preferably being conical or undercut. Extending 'to the rear of the cou-', pier and disposed between the yoke arms 2 is a; bearing block 7 having recessesfi (see 4) for respectively receiving the lugs. 4 ofwthelcoupler. The rear wall 9 of each ofthese recesses is'cylindrically curved to correspondtdth'e curvature of the corresponding rear face 5 of the adjacent lug 4 of the coupler, while the forward wall 10 of each of said recesses is made conical so as to conform to the correspondingly curved face 6 of the cooperating lug. At its center the block 7 is provided with a forwardly projecting Web 11 whose end face may advantageously be rounded concavely, as at 12, to constitute an extended 1 bearing seat for a coupler key 3 of standard form. The Web 3 of the bearing block extends into the slot 13 of the coupler so as to engage the rear end of the key 3 when the parts are in assembled 5 relation. The rear face 14 of the bearing block is adapted to cooperate with the forward follower of the cushioning unit.

To assemble the device, the bearing block 7 is turned with relation to the coupler stem 1 until 99 the block is approximately at right angles to its normal position. The lugs 4 of the coupler are then put into register with the respective slots 8 of the block and the latter is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 1. The coupler and associated bearing block are then placed in position on the car and the draft key 3 is inserted through the slot 13 of the coupler shank, through the slots in the yoke arms 2 and through the usual slots in the adjacent car sills (not shown).

It will be appreciated that the means for connecting the couplerand yoke afford a large bearing for the end of the coupler shank not only when bufiing takes place with the coupler in assembled position, but also when the coupler is 105 moved laterally toward the side of its carrier iron. It will also be observed that the block 7, which is flexibly connected to the coupler shank, always has a full hearing at its rear face 14 against the follower or draft gear. The flexible connection 1,10

which passes ina swa 60 also provides at all times for a full bearing of the connecting key 3 on the yoke arms or straps 2 and on the key seat 12 of the bearing block, without regard to the lateral position of the coupler 1 with respect to its carrier iron.

We claim:--

1. In a railway draft appliance, the combination with a yoke having spaced arms, of a coupler having a stem extending between said arms and provided with a plurality of oppositely projecting integral lugs each having a concavely curved forward face and a rear face concentric therewith, a key extending through said yoke and coupler, and a bearing block cooperable with the coupler for permitting pivotal movement of the latter, said block engaging said key and having a plurality of curved recesses for receiving the correspondingly curved integral lugs of the coupler, and the rear end of said stem at points between said lugs being circularly curved and in vertical alinement with the curved rear faces of said lugs,-and the rear walls of said curved recesses conforming to the curvature of the rear end of said stem and rear faces of said lugs.

2. A railway draft appliance involving a yoke, a car coupler having a stem extending into said yoke and connected thereto, the stem of said coupler having a rearwardly opening key slot and a plurality of oppositely disposed outwardly projecting integral lugs each provided with spaced concentric bearing surfaces of unequal radii and the rear end of said stem on opposite sides of said slot being curved to correspond to the curvature of the rear faces of said lugs, and means operatively interposed between the yoke and coupler for permitting pivotal movement of the latter, said means including a key extending through said slot and a bearing block fashioned with concentrically curved surfaces for respectively cooperating with the bearing surfaces of the coupler stem and lugs, and said block being formed with a web engaging said key within said slot.

3. In a draftappliance, the combination of a coupler shank having a slotted end forming spaced jaws, said jaws having a buffing surface at the rear thereof, and a buffing piece having a surface cooperating with the buffing surface of said jaws and being provided with flanges overhanging said jaws,*said jaws having means cooperating with said flanges for interlocking said shank and buffing piece for removably connecting said buffing piece and said shank together yet permitting unrestricted relative horizontal angular movement therebetween, said bufling piece having a tongue received in said slot and forming a seat for a key passing through said slot.

4. In a draft appliance, the combination of a two-part coupler comprising a coupler shank having a slotted end forming spaced jaws, said jaws having an arcuate buffing surface at the rear thereof, and a buffing piece having an arcuate surface cooperating with the buffing surface of said jaws and being provided with flanges overhanging said jaws, one of said parts having shoulders, and meana on the other of said parts engaging said shoulders for interlocking said flanges to said jaws for removably connecting said bufiing piece and said shank together yet permitting unrestricted relative horizontal angular movement therebetween, said bufling piece having a tongue received in said slot and forming a seat for a key passing through said slot.

WILLIAM J. REGAN. ENOCH GEORGE, JR. 

